R a v e n Feathers
by kobiee
Summary: RokuNami... The number one rule to being an assassin should be: Do NOT fall in love with your target 'You are but a butterfly that beats to the time of my heart, don't let a dying raven with broken wings ground you when you're meant to soar.' RnR
1. Sacrifice

**Authors Notes~**

So this is the new version of my old Feathers of the F a l l e n story. The only thing that's different is that they're teenagers. The plot is pretty much the same, minor adjustments. Enjoy. I'm really sorry if you were following the other story and waiting for the next installment, but there was just nothing there. Their age is too different from my own.

In light of that, this one is a little better planned and might even prove to be entertaining. I dunno.

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**Feathers of the F a l l e n REVAMPED**

_**R a v e n Feathers.**_

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Prologue

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_Sacrifice_

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'_Who is fit to govern others? He who governs himself. You might as well have said: nobody.'_ ~Augustus William Hare and Julius Charles Hare, _Guesses at Truth, by Two Brothers_, 1827

…

**10 years ago.**

Two young blond boys are playing in a small backyard in a quiet suburban town. Similar. Twins.

There's light in the older ones eyes, he's a happy and cheerful, bubbly kind of boy. His name is Ventus and he's prodding his little brother with a stick, trying to wake him up from his afternoon nap.

The little one is more solemn, opening wide blue eyes languidly, blinking to clear the sleep hazed blur. His name is Roxas, the quieter of the twins.

He gets up and stretches, smiling at his twin and then walking off to play in the sandbox. He liked the colour of sand.

Normal five years olds are fascinated by the simplest things. That's why Roxas' parents think there is something wrong with the boy. Always sleeping, always quiet. The fact of the matter is he's bored, being observant and understanding everything is very tedious.

Ventus entertains his little brother by drawing pictures in the sand and attempting to build something from the slippery grains. Humans fascinate Roxas, he cannot fully understand them.

"Woxy, pass me the spade!" The five year old demands, amusing his little brother.

"Was tat?" he asked, pointing to four lumps of sand arranged messily in front of him.

"It's us! Mama, Papa, me and you," he laughs and it's cheerful and pure "We're a happy famawee, togetha foweva."

Roxas shook his head, pulling up the corner of his lips just enough to dimple. He wished he was as easily amused, Ven made everything seem so fun. But then again Ven was healthy… Roxas wasn't born with a healthy heart, partly why he was always sleeping.

"I wuv you Ven," Roxas smiled.

"I wuv you too Wox," he said, a little perplexed at the sudden outburst.

Roxas watch as he furiously as he dug a huge hole into the sandpit, unsuccessfully because the san was sinking in again. Ven made a deep lunge and accidentally threw the spade further into the yard.

"Oops."

He went to retrieve it, leaving Roxas alone for a few moments. When he returned Roxas Strife was nowhere to be found.

**Current day.**

He saw life in snapshots, and he didn't just mean photographic memory. It was as if everything was too slow. So sitting and examining a situation was not a problem. It was what to do in some situations that were the tricky parts.

He strutted confidently into an alleyway, calloused hands ghosting over his hidden holster and then further tugging his black leather jacket over it. He was greeted at the end by a few more burly men with sour expressions. They chewed on their cigarettes, showing glimpses of yellow teeth before they allowed the teen in.

He was met at the end of an ammunition store by another thug in a dirty white singlet, chewing on tobacco "Want somethin' kid?"

"I'm here to meet with Alphonso." He drawled flicking dirty blond spikes out of his eyes.

The man in front of him narrowed his eyes. He made his skin crawl, and smelled foul. He hated this store, selling lousy weaponry and trying to be all intimidating like.

The teen spied a decent looking revolver to the side of the counter, the man nudged the table, it didn't move.

"Whatcher' name boy?"

"Raven." There was no hesitation in his voice. He didn't like being reminded of how young he was compared to his comrades, but it was a good sign, that meant they were underestimating him.

"A'hm under no grounds ta let a 'Raven' through."

His eyes twitched and under instinct his hand twitched towards his belt, he wanted to slaughter this man so badly. He hated those who assumed they were superior.

"Double check it with your boss," he demanded "and he'll tell ya how wrong you are."

He rolled his eyes "I know kids like yours, they walk in here, all gangster type and the like," he scoffed, picking up the revolver and watching his reaction "but most of them pussies run at tha sight o'this very gun."

The teen watched him, piercing eyes never leaving the muddy brown ones of this less than intimidating man. His cold ice eyes narrowed and the man slowly rose and walked into a back room.

From the beginning of his training he had been taught to properly hide his emotions, but he nearly broke into a grin when the man snarled at him and told him to go in, down two flights of stairs. He wasn't warmly welcomed into a really dark room with feint green lighting. Several tall men stood in a confined space, attempting to move so that a path was created to a lounging figure surrounded with spirals of green tinted smoke.

He looked around; it was a store room of some kind. There were sets of weapons on the wall behind the leader figure, ordinary and exotic. There was a shelf of tools to his left, guarded by three guards. There was an anvil on top and an open toolbox on the top shelf. There was a table to his right, with strange gun making materials, a bowl of gun powder and a few odd screwdrivers. There was a lone light hanging from the ceiling, it looked strong enough to hold his weight for a bit.

He turned his attention back to the man. He was sharp, with a suit and hat stereotypical of a mafia boss. He had his hand on his leg, which meant a gun holster. He wasn't crossing his legs; there were weapons within arms length and just out. His men were evenly spread throughout the room, which meant they thought him capable to fight on his own.

Alphonso stroked the stubble on his chin as he sized him up, he hated that look. Every time he had to look indifferent when people thought him incapable of _anything _he came seconds closer to absolutely snapping.

"So you're the Raven that was sent in to complete a thousand dollar drug bust?" he proclaimed, as if the matter was laughable. To further piss the teen off, he _did _start laughing, and all his subordinates joined in too.

"Yes… My superior thought of no where else to acquire quality coke." He smiled a knowing smile while maintaining eye contact with the mafia boss.

"Well then your superior has fine taste," he narrowed his eyes "does he have means to back up this transaction?"

"I can assure you, my superior is not mentally retarded," the blonde flicked his bangs out of his eyes again and flashed a wad of paper munny. But he didn't throw it to the table like they were expecting "drugs first."

"We have five grams for three thousand."

The reason that he had been given a commission to axe this guy was because he enforced too much money for his drugs, and wouldn't reveal to anyone his suppliers. He'd then send hitmen after people that couldn't pay, so he must have murdered someone with enough money to pay to Organization 13. The amount that he was giving was only worth 300 munny, because if it's cheap diluted substance, being only 20% of the original form.

"Send it down to one thousand."

Alphonso scowled, arm tensing, weapon at the ready.

"We are not accepting that kid."

"Oh, I think you would want to. There are going to be consequences if you don't, selling fifty grams of twenty percent coke for three thousand? That's ridiculous."

"I'm giving you three seconds."

"Pfft, like that's gonna change my mind."

"Three."

"Two."

He tensed arms to his holster when he saw everyone in the room copy his movements.

"One!"

In blinding speed he side stepped right, picking up a fistful of gunpowder and throwing it into the guarding subordinates' eyes so that two writhed on the floor in pain, clutching red eyes in absolute agony. Turning left he drew his pistol and fired it at the wall behind the open tool box, then behind the anvil. They ricocheted off the wall and between the objects with enough force to knock them both down and onto three of the subordinates' heads. The pointed section of a hammer embedded itself into one of their heads and the anvil managed to completely crush someone's skull. Five bodies had tumbled to the ground gracelessly, and with each his smile grew wider and more frightening, not even caring that his shirt was no splattered with blood. The remaining body guard lunged at him but the blond jumped and grabbed onto the light bulb chord, swinging and kicking him so hard in the neck his spine snapped and he joined his comrades in a gruesome untimely death.

The wire snapped and all light in the basement flooded out, while he dropped soundlessly to the ground. He made his way over to Alphonso, who he heard piteously crying in the corner.

_That's what you get for underestimating me fucker._

"Whatever you're being paid, I will double it. Spare me and I'll somehow make it worth your while! Please!" he begged like the sniveling coward that he was, true light shining on the brink of death.

He didn't need sight to aim directly at the guys forehead, he could hear it with precise accuracy.

"W-who are you?" he screamed.

He laughed, a kind of dark hysterical one "I'm XIII of Dusk, darkness is here, and nothing more."

A loud bang and his soul started to wither away…

The Angel of Death left that mission with more pointless deaths and a trail of black feathers in his wake.

**f a l l e n**

Organization 13 are nicknamed Dusk. They're an elite group of assassins that were created for the sole purpose of creating elite killing machines for whatever purposes may cross their path. Most, like him, have been with Dusk since their childhood. Probably because the truth of the matter is they _kidnap _you.

To him. That wasn't the case.

He'd walked into the clutches of Dusk. _Willingly.

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Complaints? Flames? Compliments? I'm down with whatever.

kobes.


	2. Facade

**~Authors Notes**

I've been having trouble because a sneaky bitch has been going around my account and messing around with my stories, but that's alright because I got this finished.

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**R a v e n Feathers.**

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_Facade_

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_There is a great streak of violence in every human being. If it is not channeled and understood, it will break out in war or in madness._ ~Sam Peckinpah

…

**Organization Base/Superior's office.**

To say that he disliked Xemnas was a huge understatement, at the first given chance he would take a glock and shoot it right between the bastards eyes. But that would be after he chopped of his balls and fed them to him.

Xemnas was the creator of Organization XIII, and whoever had spirited him away when he was five years old was under his orders. You wouldn't expect someone in charge of a group of elite assassins to be nice, and that's just what he was, the stereotypical superior, except a lot more malicious.

Roxas had been under orders to return to Superior as soon as he had finished his mission, hurrying because when Xemnas said 'be here on time,' it meant 'be there early.'

The youngest member of Organization XIII twisted and turned through their base, he had been to the supervisors' office more times than he could count, and Superior's office was right next to his.

There were no pleasantries whenever he encountered their leader, no pep talk, no smiling. It was probably against the assassin code anyway. You know? To be anything near social.

"The assassination of De Rivera Alphonso was completed to a satisfactory level Number XIII."

"Am I allowed to accept that as a compliment?" he asked sarcastically. Roxas was always bitter towards his mean superiors. He was still a child after all, and if he wouldn't be treated like an adult, then he would demand the rights of an infant.

"Yes you may," he nodded, in a dead monotone as always "Now, your next assignment is a little different to your simple hit and runs."

He tilted his head, narrowing his eyes "How so?"

"Your job requires infiltration."

Roxas snarled, slamming his hand on his desk "Xemnas!" he knew he hated it when subordinates called him by his real name during work. "You _know _that I am absolutely terrible at infiltrations!"

"Hikari!" he growled, demanding his attention "This mission requires strategy and acting skills, so far you have been able to deal with the strategy, but your acting leaves something to be desired. A Dusk member is versatile with any sort of situation, and infiltration is one of the _main _fields."

Roxas rolled his eyes, in a rather obvious manner. It was as if he _wanted _to irritate superior.

"Why is this mission so important?" Roxas asked, seating himself.

"We're going after the heir to Hollow Bastion's 'Free Shooter' gun franchise. The girl is the adoptive daughter to our very own number II, which has been, as of late missing in action."

"Which means that you guys have either eradicated him already, or are trying." Roxas shrugged, Xemnas nodded.

"Unfortunately it's the latter, Xigbar's whereabouts are still unknown, and we have number V in swift relocation missions to find out."

"Good for him," the blond replied giving a half hearted thumbs up.

"Number XIII, Naminé Kokoro is now a threat to us because she is in the position to take over the company despite her young age, and this company is filled with killers sworn against us because they are devoted to number II's betrayal."

"Are girls her age really interested in things like guns?"

"We don't know if girls _your _age are, and that's why you and Kairi are going into this mission, with Kasai supplying ammunition and number IX with extra accessories."

Kairi and Axel. Xemnas favored Kairi, the more level headed out of the cousins, she was a thief among the organization and not actually in the assassination ranks. She had never killed before and never intended to, she was what little fragment of humanity they had left. Axel was their resident ammunition and explosion expert. He was good at infiltration, but even better at messing things up… with a bang. He was better at fighting with brute force. Number 9 was Demyx, the laziest guy out of the entire organization, Roxas still didn't understand why Mansex kept him around.

Why Mansex? Because he's a homosexual pedophile.

"You're mission is onto to gather intel, it's not until she starts becoming a threat that we actually need to eradicate her. We need to make sure Xigbar knows that his daughter is being threatened so we can lure him out of hiding."

"Notorious superior," Roxas bowed, a gesture screaming sarcasm.

"Enough of your dry humour number XIII," Xemnas growled.

"I think you mean, enough of your incredibly sexy wit assassin thirteen."

The tanned man rolled his eyes "I believe you're spending too much time with number VIII."

"I would have though that obvious."

"Enough," he said for the second time "you will be moving to Hollow Bastion for the duration of the year. You have three months to gather intel. Do it by whatever means possible, I would recommend enrolling into her academy but you've never done anything by the book XIII."

"You know me too well Superior."

He smirked while exiting the room with the details in hand.

It was a simple desire, being able to fuck with the superiors mind.

**f a l l e n**

Roxas acted like a heartless bastard. Oh he wished. Being heartless would have been so much easier than trying to live his existence. There was something demented and awful about feeling sympathy for those that you were killing. And still killing an inexperienced defenseless target never became any harder. It made him feel dark, and disgusting, and no matter how thoroughly he would clean himself, he could never scrub the feeling of filth from his skin.

There are some though, that are his saviors. People, like Axel and Kairi, and then there are those like Cloud, who he looks up to. Maybe it's because he's strong, and left the darkness or it might be because Cloud was his father.

The fifteen year old didn't really know what to make of himself, which was unhealthy because an undefined psych can quickly lead to insanity. From the tender age of five he has been raised to be someone emotionless, a ruthless killing machine. And he couldn't even follow his instructions properly. He has a strange way of executing orders so the job gets done, but not in the way that any of the superiors think. He'll be asked to be sneaky about a murder, and he'll blow the entire place up. Ask him to make it look like suicide, and he'll blame it on a past lover. He doesn't know why he likes disobeying his superiors so much, but he receives a cold shiver of delight every time he does. He doesn't know why being snippy, insulting and overly sarcastic gives him thrills. Kind of like a reward, a high of his very own.

The high is what he now recognises now, a lowly druggie. He has no personality; bland intelligence, mediocre looks, and doesn't understand why he was brought into the world.

Sometimes he cries, knowing that it won't do anything to help.

What he relies on, in the brink of insanity, are words. Stories about characters with valiant lives, heroic morals, and a world so far from his own. He's a writer to escape his reality.

**Never Was Airport/7:00pm**

"I completely doubt in Demyx and Axel's ability to take care of us," Roxas mumbles into Kairi's ear as they hand over their luggage to the adults. Axel may have been 25 and Demyx 22, but they certainly didn't act like it. The two were playing thumb wrestling. Kairi had told him it was their way of coping, pretending that they were normal often made them feel comfortable. It made Roxas incredibly embarrassed to be associated with them.

Kairi sees the look on his face because she messes up his hair and laughs. Kairi is Roxas' best female friend. Scratch that. _Only_ female friend. Well… there had been… no… now is not the time to be discussing such things. The only female Dusk member is Larxene and the woman is a vicious bitch. Kairi had been taken away from her family when she was seven, but whenever she mentioned it, he couldn't help but think she left something else, something more precious behind. Roxas relied on her for tips when it came to acting skills, he knew no one more devious and misleading as Kairi.

She was beautiful, with a head of straight red hair, lightly tanned skin, and blue-violet eyes. She was graceful, with power and sleekness behind her form so as to make thievery that much easier. She was a real eye catcher, she was. But she'd never seemed interested in boys before, it puzzled him, and he accounted it towards not endangering anyone with her line of work.

They board the plane in a sleepy stupor, bored out of their minds from all the waiting. For a moment Demyx asked why Xemnas didn't order them a private jet or something. Dusk was certainly rich enough to afford one. Their assassins and camaraderie were always dressed impeccably, Roxas only through Kairi's help, and had the finest weapons. When Roxas realized this, his senses cleared and he looked around, suddenly alert to any kind of harmful attack.

He stayed like that for the first twelve hours of the flight, only stopping to take a nap when Kairi woke up.

**8:46pm**

He was jolted awake by cold shivers that refused to leave him alone. There's only the stewardess awake and she's just passing Demyx's sleeping form, contemplating what to do. The plane lights are dimmed, but he see's a flash of silver behind her back. But Demyx wakes up from a bad dream and she walks away, tucking the knife into her thigh high boots.

**10:28pm**

After another cat nap he wakes, and this time the same stewardess is looming over Kairi. When she spies his open eyes she tucks away the knife, pretend. Stupid woman. Roxas darts over the seat in a cat-like fashion, landing silently before, covering her mouth with his hand and her twisting her hands so hard some bone in her wrist dislodged and broke. She bites so hard into the crook of his forefinger and thumb he's sure she's drawn blood, but it's not his top priority. His aim is to kill her before anyone sees. He spies the empty front seats and slits her throat, sighing in relief when her body falls limp in his arms. He kicks her under the seat, far enough so that the shadows conceal her, before walking back to his seat and falling into his dreams again. He needed to forget how satsfying the blood had felt on his fingertips.

**Hollow Bastion Airport/6:02am**

Kairi's stretching in front of the conveyor belt when Roxas returns with coffee for all of them, rested but aching from the wound on his hand. He'd dressed it and then covered it up with a pair of knit gloves, wrapping themselves around his espresso.

"How did you sleep?" he asked her.

"Like a rock," she replies tucking her hair behind an ear before grabbing her hot vanilla latte.

"Oh hey," Demyx appears having returned from the restroom "I found out why Xemnas wanted us to go by airline."

"Oh?" Kairi asked "Why's that?"

"Because apparently there was a Free Shooter spy on the plane, he wanted us to eliminate them." The man shrugged, running a hand through his mullet styled hair and grabbing his order.

"Someone was busy last night," Axel arrives with their luggage and then turns to Roxas. "did you check for spyware on the flight?"

"I'm not an _idiot_," the blond rolls his eyes "I'm just glad I won't be there when they find the body."

The four leave the airport laughing, as if macabre is all some kind of twisted joke. This is his life, a sick gothic horror. And for some reason when he doesn't hate it, he loves it.

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Care to leave a review? :P

kobes._  
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	3. Masquerade

**~Authors Note**

Things have been rather hectic lately. I think along with this cold I'm getting, I'm getting writers block too so, take this while I'm not a total bitch.

On a positive note, I really like this story compared to my last one. It's much easier to write.

This might become a joint fic, because I'd really like some views from Nami's perspective. My RL friend has decided to join FF, her name is Little Miss Monochrome (or Demi). But it's probably going to be Smiley because she can write angst a little.

**Kobes.**

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_**R a v e n Feathers**_

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_Masquerade_

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_We cannot destroy kindred: our chains stretch a little sometimes, but they never break._ ~Marquise de Sévigné

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**Hollow Bastion/Midday**

They'd settled into a lavish house with everything a normal teenager would want. Unfortunately, Kairi is the closest thing they have to normal and she cheered at the sight of her new room. Roxas watched as Axel and Demyx fought over the biggest room, and laughed as Demyx lost and went to play in the pool.

He glanced at his room, thankful for a shelf of books, his skateboard and guitar propped neatly along the wall, and a large window that took up the entire surface of the east wall. And when he became bored he asked Kairi and Demyx if they wanted to explore the city. Axel had gone into his room and locked the door, he assumed he was sleeping.

He loved the few days before a mission began; they were entitled to these before and after long missions. Well, they weren't entitled to them. It was more like everyone demanded them. He'd relax for a few days before strategy would begin, and Naminé Kokoro would be his.

In the end only Kairi had been available, Demyx was being responsible for once and making sure their shipment of spyware was taken care of. That was the real requirement of the days off, it was to make sure all preparations for the mission was ready to be launched at anytime. Theirs would begin as soon as Kairi started school in two days and Roxas, being so thoroughly sick of academics, figured out how he'd worm his way into Naminé's life without attending. Infiltration's difficult, and it was hard to figure out how he could crash her daily routine without seeming to mean to, but he would figure something out. He always did. It was why he was the youngest assassin still alive.

The community was nothing out of the ordinary, it was lavish compared to some places he had been before, and dull compared to a rare few, but it wasn't the worst place to live. He might need to get a part time job if he was going to occupy himself during the day; this was a generally large bludge lesson anyway.

"Let's go there," Kairi asked.

"No."

"How about in-"

"No."

"Roxas-!"

"No."

"Hey!" she hit him gently over the head, "You're the one that said you wanted to go out and see what we're dealing with."

"Did I say that? I really meant that I wanted to pick a fight with the locals," he clarified stretching.

Kairi growled at him and picked her phone out from her purse, making sure it was on before showing him the time. It was one something; he didn't pay enough attention to catch the last numbers.

"I'll meet you here in the plaza at five okay?"

He gave a half hearted shrug and watched as she scampered off into the mall, wishing he was as easily amused. Damn, sometimes Kairi reminded him so much of Ventus.

After he had been abducted he didn't even have sufficient rights to see how his family was going anymore.

He shook his head, clearing his mind of any depressing thoughts, looking for something interesting to turn to. He walked around the general vicinity for a little while, bored out of his mind until he came upon a back alley leading into a tangle of neighbour hoods darker and less welcoming than those nearer to the castle. He blinked his wide blue eyes. He didn't even see glimpses of this part of Hollow Bastion, and everyone had conveniently forgotten to mention it to him. His back began to itch.

There a boy trying to gain a little munny by playing flashy card games on a dirty wooden stool; Roxas was reminded of Luxord, another assassin back at Never Was. His arms moved like spider legs over the cards, moving too quickly for the normal human eye to follow. He watched the boy as he maneuvered cards underneath the table, beneath his shoes and up his sleeves without any one noticing. That was some pure finesse there.

He examined the boy for what he was, deciding that he looked remarkably like Axel. The hair colour and eye colour were very alike.

Roxas shook his head _Too alike to feel comfortable around._

There was a rule that Organization members were not to interact with their family on grounds that they might become attached and hinder one of the two parties, causing chaos.

"Hey!"

But they didn't say that Organization members couldn't interact with _other _assassin's families. It didn't really matter; this guy's last name might not even be Sinclair. Axel had explained it to him once very briefly; he had a little sister, a little brother, and an older brother. Before he and Kairi had been abducted their last name had been Sinclair, now it was Kasai, just like his was Hikari instead of Strife.

"Ventus! Why are you ignoring your good old buddy?"

Roxas' body went rigid and his eyes flickered back to the red haired boy that had called out his brothers name.

"Oi! Ventus Strife! Are you listening to me?"

_I've made a terrible mistake in coming here._

"Ven! Wait up."

He heard the clumsy struggle of the boy behind him, throwing over the stool and trying to run after him. Roxas was faster, and disappeared the way he came slowing to a jog only when he couldn't see the red head behind him. He wondered if the Axel look-alike would try to look into this. He really hoped he didn't. He called Kairi, and said he wasn't coming.

_So Ven lives around here? That could make things a little problematic._

**The Residence/3:57pm**

Roxas slammed his fist into the wall. This was _so _not part of the mission!

He had been trying to contact Never Was to speak to the Superior about his dilemma, and the one time anyone had answered it was Luxord and he was raving drunk. He smirked a little when the plaster beneath his knuckles started to crack, but panicked when Axel came hopping down the stairs. He executed the perfect dolphin dive behind the couch and prayed to whatever God who was not on his coffee break to have some kind of mercy on his soul (not that he deserved it).

"Kairi's shopping…" he heard Axel murmur to himself, "Demyx is working in shipments."

Oh no.

"_ROXAS!_ STOP HIDING YOU DIRTY LITTLE SHIT!"

Normally he wouldn't take the insult, but he'd received two new bars and thought that maybe it might improve his chances of reaching someone decent, like Saix. He crept to the opposite side of the couch Axel was inspecting, and tried ringing Never Was again. He cursed silently when the call immediately went to voice mail, and he slipped the phone into his pocket.

Honestly, they had enough money to fix the wall no problems; Axel just liked picking on him.

"If you don't get up and fess up to ruining the wall then I'm going to have a little campfire in your room. Can you guess whose books I'm gonna use for firewood?"

_He's bluffing._

"_Princess!_

_Why you so contagious._

_Every single breath-"_

"Oh God, fuck you Short Stack!" the blond swore at his phone. It was Kairi's ringtone, and he had enough mind to curse her name too. He remembered a time two years ago when Kairi had declared that to be the most feminine song on his phone, and demanded it as her ringtone. Prima Donna.

_Why-why didn't I just leave it on silent?_

"GOTCHA!" Axel's outburst resonated through the air as he dived over the couch and tackled Roxas to the ground.

"Ah! Get your red mop OUTTA MY _FACE_ you goddamned beanstalk!" he snarled trying to dislodge Axel's hands from around his face. They were a scuffle of limbs behind the couch; the red head trying to suffocate Roxas with a newly acquired cushion and the blond raking his nails along the carpet in an attempt to escape.

"Oh my God-RAPE!" he screeched, in some desperate attempt to free himself, but was only met with a _WHUMP _on the head from the couch cushion.

"PWNED you little punk bitch! That's what you get for insultin' the do."

"You mean that red rag that hangs from your head like the remains of a dead echidna?-OWW! Fuck man, you punch like a girl," Roxas snickered, commando crawling away as fast as he could.

"Come back here yo-!"

"_Number XIII?"_

Saix's voice filtered through the madness and Roxas was spared from another tackle as he got up, brushed himself off and seated himself on the couch in something like a presentable manner. Axel ceased his attempts to annoy the blond and sat on the coffee table trying to listen in on the conversation. What Roxas was really wondering was why calls from Never Was were now coming in the form of Short Stack songs... _Kairi._

"Hello VII, I needed to speak with either you or Superior on the close proximity of the… the _Strife family _on this mission."

The pyromaniac gasped lightly, green eyes widened and questioning. Roxas nodded his head again in confirmation.

"Is that so Roxas? I wasn't aware of this, only superior has the file for this particular mission. I will check in on him immediately, but in the mean time practice your under cover skills and see if you can maneuver undetected."

"Saix, he's my _identical _twin brother. How am I supposed to-"

"You'll figure something out, you always do." That was all he said before he hung up, and the blond was moments from flinging the wretched device at the wall.

"Fuck, I _hate _it when he does that!"

"You're not kidding Rox? You reckon Ven is really here?"

Roxas exhaled and sighed "I was walking around the slums and I saw this kid, and he called out to me as if he knew me, called me 'Ven'. So no doubt. Actually Axel, you might wanna be cautious, that kid looked a little like you… scratch that, a _lot _like you."

Axel turned away from his friend, making as if to leave to go upstairs again but before he could do that "We used to live in Radiant Garden, the district closest to the castle, me and Kairi. But we aren't part of the Sinclair family anymore, just like you aren't a Strife. Best to stay away from lives forgotten."

**f a l l e n**

The blond couldn't sleep that night, and took a leisurely stroll throughout the town again. It was rather ominous during the night time; huge buildings casting strange shadows on each other to make the place looked like some kind of demented jigsaw puzzle. He would say he was creeped out but he had seen worst places.

What didn't seem to fit the picture was the sight of a slender figure pausing before retreating into the shadows. Perking his curiosity, he advanced forward intrigued by someone's late night activities. He darted to the side, and into the alleyway he had seen the person, only to be startled when the black hoodie ahead of him bumped into a trash can. He cursed himself. Why was he letting his guard down? This was still a dangerous mission. His hood slipped from his head and he called out to the figure, identifying a female form and a height that suited someone his age.

"Hello?"

"Ven?"

He stopped himself from freezing this time; because he had thought about what he would do should this happen again.

"Yeah?" Lie.

The female gave a laugh and turned his way. But her face was still obscured by the shadows. It was high and trilling, a little soft like wind chimes. She took of her hood, and he could see from the lamps on the street a sliver of white gold hair.

"You scared the shit out of Lea today. C'mon, we're late."

_Late for what?_

He shrugged "Okay."

The female paused for a moment, and Roxas thought he might have been found out immediately, but she mimicked his shrug and tugged on his sleeves further into the alley. He sighed and scratched lightly at his back.

Organization XIII might have been famous for getting what it wanted, loyal suppliers and obedient assassins. But they weren't powerful enough to stop teenagers from rebelling against their orders. It was in their nature. It was in _his _nature.

* * *

**Reviews please?**


	4. Restraint

**Author's notes; **I'm sorry I've disappeared of the face of the Earth, been helping with Ragdoll and now we're just waiting on the Beta's okay. Oh and I'm a little sick too. Isn't Australia supposed to be one of the hottest countries in the world? Whatever.

* * *

**R a v e n Feathers**

…

_Restraint_

…

'If we resist our passions, it is more because of their weakness than because of our strength.' ~François, duc de La Rochefoucauld

…

Recap:

The female paused for a moment, and he thought that he might have been found out immediately, but she mimicked his shrug and tugged on his sleeves further into the alley. He sighed and scratched lightly at his back.

…

**Hollow Bastion Streets/1:09am**

Indecision fogged his mind as the small female led him through twisted streets distorted with the dark, the accompanying night. But that hardly mattered when compared with the thrilling rush of adrenaline flowing through his veins, invigorating his senses when attacked with the mere _thought _of being led somewhere dangerous. Is this what normal teenagers did? Did they sneak out at night and play games in the nightlight?

"Ven, you're being awfully slow. Are you alright?"

"Yes," he replied in a flat monotone.

Her steps faltered and it was clear then that she didn't think he was Ven. It might have been better to reply with something more casual. But what was casual to teenagers? Should he act like Kairi? He couldn't believe himself! Why didn't he do any research? _Why_ was it so easy to let his guard down with this girl?

She stopped completely in her steps and looked at him properly, even going so far as to flash her phone in his face so she could inspect it.

"Are you really okay?" her voice laced with something that he had never heard before. She seemed almost sad… sad for _him?_ Where had he heard of this emotion?

He tilted his head, attempting to smile a little, "Yeah I'm fine."

The girl seemed reassured by this gesture and continued leading him on, "So why did you run away from Lea today? He was freaked, thought he offended you somehow."

_So that _was _Axel's little brother. How is Kairi going to react to that?_

"No, I just… remembered something else I had to do…" he trailed off. This was ridiculous. He was basing his assumptions of Ven's personality on a boy that he hadn't seen for ten years. How was he ever going to pull this off without getting caught?

From the data that he had gathered already from the female it seemed Ven was a bubbly, sheepish kind of guy. She had reacted positively to him acting like a fool, and negatively towards him acting like a lifeless zombie… himself.

"Well explain that to _him_. You keep forgetting that your friends worry about you Ven! Especially since it's getting closer to… you know _his _birthday," she spoke quietly, continuing to lead him through the tangle of angular streets.

"Who's birthday?"

She looked at him strangely, it was a nano second of that confusing sad face again before she shook her head and laughed "That's the spirit Ventus."

"Who?" he asked again, persistent this time.

"Have you lost your mind? _Roxas._"

_Birthday…_

He'd left his home when he was five years old, without enough competent thought to remember something like their birthdays. They were something useless; they didn't need to be celebrated in Never Was. No one knew their birthdays. When was his?

"Oh… okay."

The girl in front of him turned and jutted her lower lip out "Since when have you kept secrets from me Ven? You know you can tell Nami anything."

He gave a nervous smile again, waiting till she turned again to analyse her sentence. So it seemed that Ven was loose lipped about his secrets and the girl's name was Nami. Does that mean she could be…_Naminé_? It could be possible. Judging from her appearance she wasn't like other girls her age, and was doing something that was considered unusual because she was performing it at this time of night. Naminé Kokoro was considering adopting a gun franchise for a city that had been plagued with civil war, so she couldn't have been someone so much like the stereotypical teenaged female. Or was he just over thinking things?

"You remembered right? No lessons today, just racing."

Racing. Hmm.

Would it be too much of a gamble to ask? Maybe he should ask a more generalized question.

"Um… where again?"

She rolled her eyes and playfully squeezed his wrist, "The Slum rooftops, just like all the other times. God, you are forgetful tonight aren't you?"

In a few more moments of silence he started to notice what she meant by Slums, it was that crooked part of Hollow Bastion he wasn't aware of before. He took in a great heaving breath, there was something so _liberating _about this place.

Before he was aware, they were ascending make shift steps that were in all actuality large slabs of concrete positioned so that they could get onto the roofs. There they were met with three more figures, so Roxas readied himself, careful not to seem _too _suspicious. He carefully surveyed the three figures. One was a brunette with bright blue eyes, his figure was bouncing and he had agility in his step, if he wanted to hinder this one he would got for the knees since his stance relied on them. Next to him stood a tall silver haired youth with sharp aquamarine eyes, he stood stocky and still but no doubt his long hair would have been something like a hindrance, he would have to blind this one. And next to him was a wiry haired blond with brown eyes, smiling gallantly. He displayed no current weaknesses, he would have to wait until he displayed movement.

"Hey Naminé, it isn't like you to keep us waiting," the brown eyed one exclaimed.

"Oh shut up Hayner." He would have to remember that; to associate the one wearing green cargo pants with the name Hayner.

The silver eyed one steps forward, "Isa and Lea couldn't make it, you know; the family business."

"Oh shit," the brown haired one says, "Is it Axel's birthday already?"

_Axel's birthday? That's fascinating, I'm going to have to tell him that later._

The tallest one rapped his knuckles against the loud ones skull. Judging by the closeness of their actions, they were probably best friends. The other one seemed to be lonely, so he would assume his closest friends couldn't make it.

"Don't be so callous Sora, you know this is also the time Ven remembers his brother too!"

His name is Sora. Okay, Sora is the loud one- Wait! Were they talking about him?

Naminé makes a point to glare at the other blond, placing a hand on Ventus' shoulder.

"Oops. I'm really sorry Ven."

He hesitates on purpose before shaking his head shyly, "No, that's okay."

The silver haired one sighs and punches Hayner, "Now look what you've done! You've gone and upset him!"

Roxas raises an eyebrow, was his brother really such a wimp? He plasters on an obvious fake smile and shakes his head again, assuring them that he's okay.

"Well anyway, Pence and Olette said they're not in the mood tonight, so it's just us five."

"Good," Naminé smirks, jumping forward and stretching her fingers before her, "now boys prepare to be bedazzled by my awesome skills."

And before Hayner could counter with a slow 'What skills?' she had hopped onto the nearest roof top and was sooner out of sight. Roxas eyes widened at the close millisecond reaction that got out of the following males. Sooner than he could comprehend, they were after her, and yelling about where they were going.

He watched them all from behind as he started to follow into the near black night, Sora pulling himself up from gutters with a practiced ease, Riku leaping across five meter distances, and Hayner scaling near vertical surfaces as if he were some kind of lizard. It clicked sooner than he expected it too. These kids were doing parcour!

He'd done the basics of the art with some of the other Organization members, and hoped that he knew enough to pass off Ventus' skill. He'd have to just assume that Ventus was just as good as all these other kids, and set off at a running pace to leap across an alley.

After leaping across another few more buildings and almost slipping at a crumbling old wall he'd caught up to everyone else. Luckily enough he didn't have to ask before they were conveying the details.

"Alrighty Ven," said the brunette-Sora-as he leapt over another gap, "We were going to make it, the first one to the castle-" he paused to huff a little, "but since Naminé's already ahead it's the first to catch her before she makes it, 'kay?"

Immediately, as if it was some kind of involuntary action, Roxas smiled and nodded eagerly. Sora returned the enthusiasm with his own little answering grin before bolting forward to catch the blond barely within sight.

Filled with the fresh enthusiasm of a boy restricted to freedom since he was five, Roxas jetted through the streets and rooftops, leaping and yelping and _dancing _like he never had before. There was something liberating about the way the wind flew through his hair and clothes, and being able to make as much noise as he wanted to. His limbs were light as air as he _soared. _

Before he knew it, Naminé was in sight, about to loom into the shadow of Radiant Garden's castle. He tensed his muscles and forced himself to catch up to her, gradually reaching her moments before they would reach the shadow of Radiant Garden Castle.

She turned, running backwards and huffing a little when she spotted him, "Wow, Ven you've really improved, normally you're just behind Riku."

_Damn, I miscalculated._

He smiled a little, eyes unguarded before she turned around and came to an abrupt stop, and flipping downwards as if falling into a crevasse. He didn't have sufficient warning and stumbled a little before leaping off the rooftop, and for a few seconds he was flying. He landed in a crouch, the impact reverberating through his body before he stood up and looked around for Naminé.

"Ven?" the sound was a little shaky, maybe scared.

He hesitated before answering, something he immediately regretted.

_She's caught on. Would it be worth it to continue this façade? _

"Yes Nami?" he replied softly.

She scowled, but the fear in her large blue eyes was still apparent through her rage.

"You're _not _Ventus!" she paused before adding, "You're not even _human!_"

He was pretty confused by the last statement, his whole body tingling from the odd emotions going through him.

_I can't believe I just compromised the entire mission because of a hesitation._

He opened his mouth to answer her but before he could Riku made his appearance, hand skimming over the side of the rooftop they had previously been on before he did a graceful flip towards the ground. His aquamarine eyes looked to Naminé before landing on Roxas.

"Damn, I lost to Nami _and_ Ven."

It was said in a joking tone, but neither Naminé nor Roxas were laughing.

"I think…" Roxas faltered, "I've gotta go back."

Riku's alarmed 'Wait Ven!' fell on deaf ears as Roxas sprinted back to home base.

**The Residence/3:28am**

He appeared tired and worn out when Axel opened the door. He would have laughed at his comical appearance; fluffy slippers and girly eye mask considered, but he was still so frustrated.

"Where _were _yo-"

Roxas rolled his eyes and pushed past an irritated Axel, pulling off his jacket and picking up the phone. Axel closed the door and muttered something about 'moody teenagers' before he flopped onto the sofa. Roxas blindly felt around behind the back of flower vases on the mantelpiece to find a clock that was set to Dark City time, and realizing that it was around 7:30pm there, started to ring.

"_XIII."_

"Saix I've compromised the mission."

"…_What?"_

"You heard me loud and clear, just replace 'compromised' with 'failed' and you'll see my overall point."

"_XIII, _what _happened?"_

"I ran into Miss Kokoro tonight, unplanned and unprepared I tried to improvise my conversation into making her think that I was Ventus. But _I told you _it was impossible, she is apparently familiar with my brother and noticed we are not one in the same."

"_XIII if I find out that you're lying to abort this mission-"_

"VII give me a little more credit, I don't have the audacity to _lie_ to a superior," he growled before looking sideways and adding quietly "about this anyway."

"_Roxas!"_

Oh snap, he'd pulled out the 'real name' card.

"Yes?"

"_I can't believe you! You're one of our best and you manage to fail the mission before you even start. That has got to be a new record. Now, I'll be sending you back as soon as possible and see if I can salvage the rest of this mission through Kai-"_

A thought struck the blond.

"Superior, I think I have a way to salvage the rest of this on my own."

"_How? Per se."_

"There's just one tiny catch. With this I'll be able to live under a guise much easier than whatever shitty thing you thought I would be able to do before, I mean how am I supposed to maneuver in a town that recognises Ven-"

"_What are you talking about?"_

"I have discovered a way to repair this. What I'm saying is; it will require me getting into contact with my parents…"

"_What I'm saying is NO!" _

Roxas turned to Axel and the red head rolled his eyes. That was the closest they were ever going to get to Saix's childish side.

The blond huffed "Listen VII, tell me how many times that you've told me to do something, and then later ended up regretting it?"

He received silence as his answer, broken by Axel's childish whoop and a snobbish 'Blondie's got you there Saix!'

"_Tell him to shut up while I think."_

Roxas turned to Axel, "Shut up."

Axel rolled his eyes again, opting to pull out one of Kairi's magazines on the table and start flipping through the shit, all the while listening to whatever Saix was saying. In truth the man probably wasn't thinking of the answer, but how he was going to relay the message to Xemnas.

"_Roxas if you show any signs of betray for one second I will not hesitate to fly over there and fire a bullet down your throa-"_

"Thanks Superior!" he replied in an overly chipper tone, bubbling over with sarcasm as he hung it up, throwing the offending machinery to the couch near Axel, "Don't you dare say anything that will give me reason to slit your throat."

Axel sighed, knowing when to joke and when not to and started for the staircase. Before he could start to ascend though, Roxas called out to him, more timid and vulnerable than he usually looked.

"Hey Axel?"

"Yes Rox?"

"Are… Am I normal?"

"As normal as an assassin could be. But what do you mean?"

"I mean am I norm-Actually, are we normal?…Like…" he ran a hand through his hair, "I mean like, _gene_ wise."

"Roxas?"

"Listen Axel, have you ever thought about why Xemnas chose us?"

Actually it hadn't occurred to even _himself _why Roxas had been chosen for such a gruesome lifestyle.

"No never actually, it was always 'Random selection' to me."

"Well then why wasn't it the older, stronger ones they took? If they had it would have been Reno and Ventus standing here instead of you and me. I mean look at my case; I had Coronary heart disease, and instead of getting Ven, who was completely healthy they chose my sad case. They invested time and money into curing me, and then they started to train me into what I am. Isn't that a little…"

"…much?"

"Yeah, well now that you say it like that."

"I want to find out why Xemnas chose us," he murmured.

At this Axel's eyes flared, "You know what happens when we turn on the Organization, or do you need another reminder about what happened to Xion?"

_Low blow man._

Roxas growled, and under the guise of his anger arcs of heat flew through his body, "No, I _don't._"

"Just… don't go through drastic measures for something that isn't worth it."

Roxas blanched before scoffing "Isn't _worth_-you know what? _Fine_. Goodnight Axel."

"You too."

Roxas was retrieving his jacket so he could get ready for bed when Axel stops him with a piercing, almost pained look, "Rox, what are you going to do?"

He heaved another sigh, because he had been doing that a lot lately, "I'm going to do what I do best; _improvise_."

He rolled around in bed for the majority of the night, unable to fall into a fit sleep until he dug around for a box underneath the bed. He cradled out a sea shell so it rested on the bed side table, stroking it lightly before closing his eyes.

**f a l l e n**

The blond was in high spirits as he danced down the steps the next morning, skidding into the kitchen and snatching burnt bread from the toaster, eating it like he didn't care that it tastes like black soot.

Demyx laughed at his attitude, "You seem happy."

Roxas laughed triumphantly, "Naminé Kokoro isn't going to know what hit her!"


	5. Oxymoron

**Authors Notes;**

Hey, would you guys prefer me to write more (like maybe 3000 so and so) and take longer or keep up what I have now?

Sorry, unedited, got lazy.

**Ascella **is Latin for 'Wing'

* * *

**R a v e n Feathers**

...

_Oxymoron_

...

What we call "morals" is simply blind obedience to words of command. ~Havelock Ellis

...

**Mission Base-Hollow Bastion/6:58am**

The mission base in Hollow Bastion was in the basements of what used to be the Kings Studies. They just called them Ansem's Labs now and they were hidden deep within the slums. It was pretty dangerous to come in there because they're the equivalent of sewers trampling through water was necessary to reach the base. He was trudging through the green water now, trying to remember why he was enduring the dripping from above soaking into his hair.

_Oh yeah…_

So he found out this morning that if he wasn't going to enroll for school then he'd need something to do while Naminé was there. Entertainment in this capital relied soley on money and it turns out that the mission funding didn't cover that. So he was trudging through thick, probably contaminated water to find work. No-not the normal kind of work-the stab-stab-kill kind of work. What's the point of doing something boring for the minimal amount of pay when you can do something exciting for a much larger amount?

Major missions worked like this; if the objective takes more than three weeks to achieve then sub-missions are available. Since his mission borders on three months, then sub-missions are available right away. Here he meets with a lackeys of the organization called 'Dusks' who give The Organization members their choice in missions ranging from difficulty to distance of the current home base.

"Fucking Mansex…" Roxas mumbles, "Can't get a base somewhere normal…"

He pauses in his angry rants for a moment to pick up his vibrating cell phone, the echo making his tone sound twice as loud as it was.

"Yo?"

"Roxas? It's like seven in the morning, what are you doing?"

"I'm looking for a sub-mission."

He heard the red head sigh over the phone, "You are _such _a dick."

The blond smirked. This morning Kairi had been panicking about going to school because of her inexperience, she had been reading teen magazines and reviewing the procedures of regular schools for the last three days. Roxas knew she was going to do fine, but Axel wanted him there for moral support too, so he wouldn't have to shoulder the weight of Kairi's antics all by himself. Demyx had done the smart things and fled the scene too.

"I do what I can," he tries to make sure the sarcastic bow is evident in his tone.

"Why a sub-mission?"

"Because there's nothing to do while Naminé's at school."

"Yes there is!" Axel counters, "There's always _infiltrating the company_ you know, like you were meant to?"

"Think about it for a moment Ax," Roxas sighs, "_if _I infiltrate today, with little means of preparation and knowledge about the facility on the _first day _then there is little hope of me gaining information and at the same time eluding the guards. This isn't some ordinary company Axel, its Xigbar's."

"But you're-"

"You overestimate me Axel, and while I know I am fantastic-"he ignores the snicker on the other end, "I'm not _that _fantastic."

"Oh modesty, you have so much." Roxas could almost hear the sarcastic clapping in the background.

"As I was saying before I was _rudely _interrupted, if I can infiltrate _the girl's _life before I infiltrate the company, getting into the latter will be much easier later."

Axel paused before murmuring, "You're devious."

"Thank you. Thank you."

"Just be mindful about her, have you undergone personality checks yet?"

Axel was so forgetful sometimes.

"Remind me as to why I compromised the mission in the first place?"

"Oh shut up, since you were under Ventus' guise you had different reaction rates compared to a normal person."

"True that. Oh what do you know? Even Axel is competent sometimes."

"I _will_ burn your books."

"Oh God, okay I'll stop," he laughs. Spotting the entrance of the base. It's not anything special, just a plain door steps above the murky green water, "listen, I'm at mission base so I'm gonna hang up."

"Kay, good luck bro."

He returned the phone into his pocket and went inside. The base is kind of like a miniature police station, except constantly filled with monitors and the uniforms are white and look fairly uncomfortable. Dusks gather intel on missions when their informants have too much to handle. Roxas often takes advantage of the Dusks over ambitious nature to help him.

"Hello Mr. Hikari, I trust you handled the mission on the plane to an exemplary level?"

"As always," Roxas replied.

"We've acquired all we can on Miss Kokoro for the moment, all it is impersonal details; how old she is, who her father and mother were before No. II, intel like that."

"Oh, don't worry about that," Roxas quipped, "gathering the intel myself will be so much more fun. Do you have anything on the gun facility?"

"That's the problem; it seems that they have a hacker that rivals even VI's prowess, it's near impossible to gain any information at the moment. It seems that we're going to need to send in a mole to map out the plans from the inside."

"How bothersome," Roxas sighs fiddling with his gloves, "while you chaps are working on that, could you trouble me with a side mission?"

Another Dusk comes up to him this time, with three envelopes stamped with the Organizations signature.

"Explain?"

"Two 'Acquirements' and one assassination."

The blond mumbles a bit stretching out his fingers and options before him, "Tell me the details of the assassination."

"It requires you to head into Radiant Garden-"

Roxas didn't want a mission so close to the base, especially right after or before his main target. He shook his head and said, "Oh, that won't do. Which of the acquirements is farther away?"

Acquirement to the Organization was just a fancy word for theft.

"This one is a little off, in a place called 'Departure'. Subject has requested you visit a special kind of residence-the address is listed below-and seize what they call a 'Wayfinder'. It's made of sapphire and 18 carat white gold and shaped into a little star. A picture is available for you."

"Sounds easy enough, I'll take it."

The envelope was dropped onto the desk and stamped 'XIII' on the bare front, "Remember that the recommended time to execute this mission is right after 2200."

"Ten o'clock, right."

The same Dusk that gave him the mission pauses a moment before he lights up, "I just remembered, Superior has recommended you get a regular job, to alibi as to why you're away most of the time."

"How?"

The Dusk hurried around the tables for a bit before returning with a small file, "This is your résumé. It states here that you attended Dark City Academy and that you are in between schools right now, you achieved exemplary grades in Science and English Literature, Physical Education and Drama."

Of course the members of the Organization were given the basics of education, enough to pass of decent infiltration. The exemplary subjects he had been given stemmed from other aspects of the Dark Arts he was accustomed too; Science-Botany and Poison. English-Comprehension in missions and his general like to reading. Physical Education-Combat training and human psyche. Drama-Infiltration.

"It also states that your other elective was music and the rest of your grades were B average except for Religions and Geography."

Roxas shuddered, horrible stuff.

"The Principal of Dark City is a colleague of Saix's and is willing to back up the information, with these results you will be able to get any job that doesn't require a degree you want."

"Oh… cool. Nice work."

"We don't have any more that we can offer you superior."

Roxas waved him off, "Just call me if you find more information on Free Shooter."

"Understood!" they nodded before Roxas made his way out the door.

**Hollow Bastion Academy/3:06pm**

The Academy was bright, Victorian looking, resembling the castle towering over Radiant Garden. And the huge iron gates soon began to swarm with students. Roxas wore a wig at the moment, waiting for the opportune moment to take it off. He tugged at his false raven spikes lazily, turning his attention back to the school when the bell wrung, looking out for the familiar head of platinum blond hair.

He'd been waiting for twenty minutes, looking for Naminé when a different head of hair appeared. It wasn't hard to spot him; silver was a strange hair choice after all. He suspected her should have achieved a different personality to speak to Riku, but decided against it. If Riku was suspicious of anything he would just kill him, snap his neck, easy as that.

"Hi!"

The tone was one much more peppy than he was used to, but it caught the boy's attention. He hated to admit, that even with vision on his side, Riku still looked as alluring as before. And damn, he was taller than Roxas by about fifteen centimeters.

"Um… hi? Who are you?"

"A little birdie told me you know a Naminé Kokoro?"

Riku's eyes darkened, regarding Roxas with some kind of silent anger, "What about her?"

"I'm her new servant!" he declared, "I've come to pick her up from school."

Riku rolled his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest in disbelief, "Naminé hates her servants."

He was being sincere. Dammit. Plan B.

"Alright, I'm actually a huge fan and wanted to ask if she'd go on a date with-"

Riku sighed, "Listen mate, Naminé is already infatuated with someone else, why don't you run along-"

"Riku?"

Roxas smirked when Naminé appeared behind him, side stepping the silver haired male and bowing in front of Naminé with a flourish. Upon seeing his familiar face, she blanched blinking before her eyes took on a calculative stare. Unlike his first presumption of her, she didn't scream or even falter in her movements that much.

"Hey Nam, remember me? We need to have a little talk."

She paused, deliberating a moment before nodding and turning in the opposite direction, Roxas on his heels.

"Hey!" he turned around Riku jogged up to them, "What's your name?"

Roxas grinned, the first name he thought of slipping from his lips, "Raven."

.

They were a fair distance from the school, walking towards the marketplace and Radiant Plaza where they would find some privacy in public.

"Okay spill Ventus-look alike, what's your deal?" she growled, tugging at his spikes, revealing the blond beneath the black.

"Woah, you were so much nicer last night," he laughed, pulling of the rest of the wig discarding it in the trash.

"That's because I thought you were someone else."

"Ventus Strife?"

"Of course Ventus Strife! Wait a minute… you… you can't be?"

"Wow baby-doll, took you some time to catch on," the spiky haired blond rolled his eyes, laughing when she narrowed her eyes and glared daggers at him.

Her eyes instantly widened and she was shocked into silence. They turned into a café and Roxas pulled the wig on again. Naminé tried to pull it off but Roxas relented in keeping it on, "Gosh, pushy are you?"

"Oh God, you're really _Roxas Strife?_"

Roxas yelped and shushed her, settling down at a table. Hopefully no one had heard that clearly. And if it was he would simply deny it, 'Raven' would be a new guise now.

"Geez, scream it to the world will you?" he sighed.

"I will! In fact, that's a fantastic idea!" she said getting up before he grabbed her wrist and yanked her down.

"Do that and I'll disappear from the face of the Earth and everyone think you're loonier than you already portray yourself to be," he growled eyes leveled with her own. Determined cerulean meeting furious sky blue.

"Fine, what do you want with me? And what kind of demand will get a straight answer out of you?"

Wow, she is a _lot _snippier than he was last night.

"Easy as doll face, I simply request that you tell me a little more about the… the Strife's before I actually get to meet them."

She smiled, shaking her head, "Aww, so you're actually the shy type too! Just like your brother."

He snarled, for some reason, the cosy term it sent cold shivers up his spine, making his skin crawl. He shook it off, composing himself again.

"I am not! I just don't want it to feel…" he feigned reluctance to voice his rehearsed speech, "awkward."

"Well aren't you a sweetheart," she smiled; malice clear in her false angelic expression. If he was a normal person he would have been incredibly riled.

"Well?"

"I'll do it, if you answer _all _of my questions," she said, twisting a strand of golden hair around her finger.

The waitress dropped by asking what Roxas would like, "Coffee. Black. No sugar. Thanks."

"How boring…" she mumbles before contradicting herself and asking for water.

"Hypocrite."

She laughed sarcastically lacing her fingers and using them to support her chin, "I have my reasons Mr. Strife."

"Mr. _Ascella _actually."

"What? Seriously?" she asked.

Duh, it's not like he's going to tell her his real fake name.

"Mhmm."

"Whatever, just… what do you want to ask?"

"Keep this a secret? From Ven, from your other friends?"

She looked conflicted for a moment, but maybe the allure of a stranger and mystery beyond her wildest dreams was just too much, "Okay. Anything else?"

Roxas looked at his watch; he had some time before he'd need to start preparing for his theft, "For a tour around Radiant Garden? Show me what a teenager here does for entertainment."

"Sure… _Ascella,_" she snickered, sipping at the water the waitress set down.

He rolled his eyes, sipping his own coffee, "Roxas."

"Fine," she smiled with eyes full of promise, adventure and passion, _"Roxas."_

* * *

Reviews are _always _appreciated and I try to reply to them when I can.

**kobiee.**


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